Picking Up The Pieces
by ButtButtDoodle
Summary: A darker look at what happened after the fight with Naraku. Souta is left to mend everything that the Sengoku Jidai and Inuyasha broke, but once cut, a butterfly's wings never grow back...


_A butterfly, that's what Kagome had always reminded him of… _

A seemingly small and frail being, free and inspiring as she flew in the air, naively unaware of how large and dangerous the world was: that was his Kagome. No matter the obstacles or problems, she bravely pushed through, always determined, always true. His big sister, a butterfly that thought she was a hawk. She never let her weakness pull her down; she was so strong.

He remembered how happy she used to be, bent over that ratty yellow backpack, humming, or prattling to him about something or other, overstuffing it with books and food until Souta was positive it would be impossible to close it. Yet, Kagome always managed.

And when she was finished, she'd look up, eyes bright with glee and anxiousness only a teenager traveling back and forth between times could appreciate. It always seemed ridiculous to him; after all, it was her adventures in the past that prevented her of working on her own time, her present, never mind her future. But perhaps that was only jealousy at the fact that he could not tag along.

Now only blank eyes stared back, and he felt no jealousy at all.

It was late, or really early, he couldn't tell, when he woke up to loud thumping_. _

He had gone to his parents for the Christmas holidays, finally having a break from college. He was on his final year now, medicine, and despite being overworked during the semester, he did not look forward to his return home. His classmates and friends didn't understand. He didn't bother explaining why, because they wouldn't understand this either.

_Please, not tonight_, he groaned groggily. Souta rolled over, and tried to ignore the sound for a few minutes longer before it was impossible to dismiss, and dejectedly got up.

Tiptoeing, he opened his bedroom door and peered outside. The hallway was still dark, except for a room on the end next to the stairs, its light filtering through the dimly opened door into the dusty gloom. He made his way there, shutting the door to his room softly. As he passed his mother's room, he heard soft crying, shut his eyes and hurried. He wanted to get this over with.

A small bright sign reading "Kagome's room!" greeted him at the door, mockingly. He gulped, and slowly pushed the door open.

Kagome's bedroom was the same it had always been. Bright sunny walls; her desk littered with pencil cases, books and other random objects; her fluffy bed lined with white clean sheets and pink comforter; stuffed animals everywhere - it just screamed "teenage girl". Despite the welcoming and innocent visage, it always gave Souta the urge to scream. It was _eerie_. It reminded him of the past. Of what once was, and was now gone. He looked down at the source of all the noise.

He found her kneeling in front of that stupid yellow bag-_Stupid, hateful, worthless thing_- picking up things without really looking at them, and pushing them inside. She didn't look up, and if she had heard his presence she didn't acknowledge it. She never did anymore.

It was that _stupid dog's_ fault. He couldn't believe he had once idolized him. It was because of him and his promises and tricks that Kagome was like this now, and he cursed him to hell a thousand times, regretting that he had taken Kagome along with him. Deep down, he knew it wasn't that man's fault, but anything to ease, even a little, the horrible ache in his chest.

The silence, interrupted only by Kagome's loud packing, began to pool coolness down Souta's stomach. He had to get a grip. He had to do this. For her. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a smile was in place.

"Kagome." He called quietly, and the girl paused in her incessant packing, but did not look up. "You ready?"

Kagome's eyes met his, and for one heart splitting moment, Souta wanted to run away from the place, and never come back. He wanted to run away from _her_. And he felt so guilty, because it was his sister, and he couldn't abandon her, not when she was like this. But staring into those void lifeless orbs, he knew.

That wasn't his sister. Not anymore. She was lost somewhere deep where nobody could reach her anymore.

_The butterfly's wings were cut…_

He had almost missed his sister's enthusiastic nodding, and he rushed forward to help her with the heavy pack. Shouldering the bag, he stretched out his hand for her to hold, and guided her down the stairs, their mother's gentle weeping trailing after them.

Kagome rocked their linked hands back and forth, so natural, so cheerful, and Souta had to stop himself from looking at her, from searching hopefully, foolishly, his sister's face for some sign that she was back. And the urge was so tempting; he felt his face inclining slowly to hers more than twice, as they made their way to the shrine. He didn't look though, because the disappointment would be so staggering, he didn't know if he would ever be able to recover. But his family was already scarred, recovery beyond reach for as long as the memory of this existed. They would be an open wound forever.

"Kagome?" he whispered. He felt her change in mood, a sudden anxiousness possessing her.

As they neared the shrine, Kagome's step quickened, till she was panting, half running to the door, and she released her brother's grasp, hands stretched out greedily. Without grace, she crashed against the closed door, and clawed it open, desperate now, and ran down the steps. Souta followed at a slower pace, dreading what would come next.

Her blood-curling scream permeated the darkness, and Souta closed his eyes in pain, before dropping the bag and rushing to her.

Picking up the pieces. That was his job now, he thought, as he leaned down to his sibling's slumped form. Carefully, he picked her up-_she was so thin now, wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, all his fault, all his damn fault_- and made his way back into the house. A silhouette appeared on the window, and disappeared, and Souta knew his mother was getting Kagome's things ready. He glared back at the shrine, and it seemed to be laughing at them, with its door open invitingly and a yellow backpack greeting near the entrance. But it no longer offered what made it so special to his sister.

The well was closed, had been since the day Kagome came back almost 10 years ago from the final fight with Naraku.

She had been so incoherent, babbling and crying and screaming, _and god there was so much blood_, but there was one thing that they understood. The others were dead. The perverted priest, the young demon huntress, the small kitsune, even the lifeless miko- all dead. Inuyasha, in a last ditch attempt to save her life, had plummeted his sister through the ancient well. He had tried to save the body, but the mind had broken beyond repair. Just like the shards they had worked so hard to gather, her mind had shattered, and all presence of Kagome was lost. Kagome had been stuck in that state for 10 years now, and each night she would try to go back to the well, back to her friends, to find that the portal had been sealed.

Souta and his grandfather had decided to board up the old well again when Kagome kept throwing herself into it, and injuring her legs. It didn't matter how many times she threw herself in, the past didn't grant her passage.

The well's magic was gone, and so was the Sengoku Jidai, leaving everything behind except for the young high school girl that used to travel through time. Now Souta was left picking up the broken pieces.

_But once cut, a butterfly's wings never grow back_.


End file.
